First 48

      Where to begin.... After  flying from Toronto to Amsterdam to Munich I finally made it! I was well fed  (two meals on the plane!) but extremely tired.  As soon as I got my junk from baggage claim I met my host mom, Mascha, her daughter, Lisa, my coach, Ingo, and a member of the disciples club, Frank.  I could tell that they were all excited to see me which made me happy.  Mascha even bragged about how she was the first one to find me. It was funny.  We drove back to my host family's house in Gronsdorf which is 15 or 20 minutes outside of Munich. Everything here is very pretty, clean, and green :-).
          The first thing I noticed about my host family's house was the staircase.  It is  wooden, spiral, and sooo cool!  My room is in the basement (although I still have a window :-)) along with my own bathroom.
      As soon as I unloaded my belongings and changed it was time to go to practice.  The train station is only a three to five minute walk and the field is only one stop away! Oh so convenient!  On the way to the train Ingo and I  ran into my host dad, Franky. He is just as nice as the rest of his family. At the station, Ingo explained how the train system works. I was still confused. We got on the train and the first stop was the field which you can see from the train station so it is impossible for me to get lost! When we got to the field I noticed that it was different. An all grass field, can it be? Yes.
       The practice was typical, defense and hitting but definitely more relaxed than what I am use to. While we were hitting, a huge thunder storm struck. Which makes it official, crazy weather follows me wherever I go especially when I am playing softball. Joy.
      Ingo, Mandy (the other American), and Julia (a friend of the family who plays on my team),  all joined me at my host family's house for dinner. Mascha made CHICKEN!, veggies, potatoes, and salad. It was all very delicious and I was happy to see they eat "normal" things and not pigs guts or something of that nature.  After a long get together of getting to know each other and eating it was finally time for me to shower and go to bed.  I was exhausted, and still a little overwhelmed by everything.  The wonderful invention of Skype made my night because I got to talk/see my parents, and few friends.



         The next day I woke up at 2pm. I definitely needed the sleep though. I went up stairs and immediately was asked what I wanted to eat. I had eggs, toast with fresh jelly, milk, and Mascha's special tea for the immune system. I was surprised to find out that you have to separate everything when you throw things away. Food (or organics as they call it)  goes in one trash, then plastic, then paper, and finally one for the 'who knows what it is' as Mashca said. They have very small garbage cans too.  So all day I asked where to throw what in what. I think it was entertaining to them but they appreciated me asking. 
      We were suppose to have practice at 4:30 but it was raining all day so that was cancelled. Ingo came around 4 to drop off some paper work and my phone which happens to be all in German so I have probably called random people all day. OYE. After Ingo left,  my host family invited me to play beach volley ball with them and their friends. We went to this beautiful facility near  a small lake. It was a glass building and inside they had four beach volley ball courts, locker rooms, and a tiki hut looking bar area. It was awesome!  We played for about an hour and half.  My team won 2/3 games or at least I think we did !  They pretty much only spoke in German while we played so it was tad bit confusing. After our games, we hung out at the bar area. One of the Stoeckel's  (my host family) friends bought me a drink. It was lemon, lime, and strong. Their friends were all very welcoming and I felt like I had known them longer then an hour. Everyone here is so friendly!  We finished at the bar and then went back to the Stoeckel's house for the traditional "noodle" party that they have with their friends. It was a lot of fun. They mostly spoke German during the meal but at the same time they made me feel comfortable and asked as many questions as they could think of. It was all very interesting and a lot of fun. People here, as far as I can tell, are very social, open, and a lot more touchy feely then Americans. It is actually refreshing. After a long, long dinner I finally made it to my room where I am now sitting and writing this lovely blog. 


     Overall, everything is going well! It is a very different atmosphere and was hard especially the first night. At the same time I have had two very good days and  I am excited to learn more things especially the language so I know what the heck they are talking about.